Healthy Older Age
The elements that make up a healthy older age
The elements that help determine health in older age include lifestyle and health promotion factors, such as immunisations and screening.
Why lifestyle matters
According to WHO, 60% of factors relating to individual health and quality of life are correlated to lifestyle1. Behavioural risk factors such as tobacco and substance use, harmful alcohol consumption, sex and relationships, physical activity and diet have a strong influence on health and can influence long term ill health. However, lifestyles and health-related behaviours are complex and influenced by multiple factors including wider determinants of health, and individual differences including: genetics, previous experiences, societal and cultural factors and interpersonal factors.
Lifestyle factors affect people throughout their lives and these will be discussed in detail in a Living and Working Well section.
The importance of health protection
Health promotion aims to prevent diseases, control hazards and to improve fitness and well-being. This includes protection of individuals, groups and populations from single cases of infectious disease, incidents and outbreaks. The risk from infectious diseases had been declining in the UK, but the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the threats to life and long-term health and wellbeing that infectious diseases can present if not combated. This becomes more important as people get older and the key defence against infection is vaccination. For the latest data on the levels of take-up of flu and shingles vaccination in Central Bedfordshire in people over the age of 65, please follow the links below.
Population vaccination coverage: Flu (aged 65 and over)
Population vaccination coverage: Shingles vaccination coverage (71 years)
The latest information on COVID-19 cases and vaccinations can be found here. This provides both national information and a postcode search option. A simple summary for Central Bedfordshire is also available providing a summary of the latest week’s data.
References
1. Ziglio E, Currie C, Rasmussen VB. (2004). The WHO cross-national study of health behavior in school aged children from 35 countries: findings from 2001–2002. J School Health, 74 (6): 204– 206. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]